1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to recording methods, information recording media, reproducing methods, information recording devices, and information reproducing devices, and more specifically, to a recording method for recording information into an information recording medium having plural recording layers, an information recording medium having plural recording layers, a reproducing method for reproducing information from an information recording medium having plural recording layers, an information recording device for recording information into an information recording medium having plural recording layers, and an information reproducing device for reproducing information from an information recording medium having plural recording layers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as digital technology and a data compression technology have advanced, an optical disk such as DVD (digital versatile disk) has begun to attract attention, as an information recording medium for recording information (contents) of music, a movie, pictures and computer software. Following the reduction of the price of the disk, an optical disk device wherein the optical disk is used as a subject medium for information recording also has become widespread.
Furthermore, there is a tendency that the information amount of the contents is increasing. The recording capacity of the optical disk is expected to increase. An optical disk (multilayer disk) having plural recording layers as means for increasing the recording capacity of the optical disk, and a device whose access subject is the multilayer disk have been developed. See Japan Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. H08-96406, for example.
Since this multilayer disk has plural recording layers, it is possible to record more data into the multilayer disk than a recording medium formed by a single recording layer. For example, it is possible to record approximately twice as much data as can be recorded into a single layer DVD-ROM having a single recording layer, into a bi-layer DVD-RPM having two recording layers.
In this bi-layer DVD-ROM, it is necessary to record the data onto both recording layers. In a case where the data are recorded onto only a first recording layer but not recorded onto a second recording layer, if a laser beam is concentrated on the second recording layer due to vibration, for example, during reproducing of the first recording layer, address information cannot be obtained (address error). As a result of this, reproducing may not be continued.
In addition, in a case of a bi-layer DVD+R (DVD+Recordable) having two recording layers, for example, if the disk close is processed in a state where user data are recorded onto only a single recording layer, it is necessary to record some data onto the other recording layer where the user data are not recorded. For example, in the bi-layer DVD+R, in a case where user data UD are recorded onto only a first recording layer L0 and the disk close is processed as shown in FIG. 1-(A), data formed by a lead in LI and a lead out LO are recorded onto almost the entire surface of the second recording layer L1 as shown in FIG. 1-(B). Therefore, in this case, it may take a lot of time for processing the disk close.